MANHATTAN, Kan. – Monday’s Welcome Back Student Challenge event was a big success, as K-State students helped head coach Bruce Weber and the men’s basketball team raise $9,397 for Coaches vs. Cancer.

Nearly 500 students attended the event at the new $18 million Basketball Training Facility and helped Weber raise money for Coaches vs. Cancer through a shooting event with one chance to make a free throw, a 3-point field goal and a half-court shot. Student also were able to participate in the 75 Years of March Madness Shooting Competition for a chance to win 2014 Final Four tickets.

Weber donated $467 to Coaches vs. Cancer for every student who attended the event ($1 each), while he added $1,280 for each made free throw ($10 each), $1,525 for each made 3-pointer ($25 each) and $2,000 for each made half-court shot ($100 each).

Students also participated in the 75 Years of March Madness Shooting Competition at the event, where each was given 75 seconds to score as many points as possible from different locations on the court. Points were awarded for each lay-up (one point), shot from the block (two points), free throw (three points), shot from the elbow (four points), shot from the wing (five points) and 3-pointer (six points) with 12 bonus points for making all six shots. Graduate student Lee Rickman of High Point, N.C., and senior Scott Stroberg of Hutchinson, Kan., were the two high scorers of the March Madness competition with Rickman posting 73 points at halftime of last night’s Sunflower Showdown to win a Nike prize pack. Rickman’s name will now be submitted to the NCAA for a chance to win four tickets to the 2014 Men’s Final Four at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Weber also donated an additional $4,125 to Coaches vs. Cancer for each of the 55 students ($75 each) who scored more than 40 points in the March Madness competition.

Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), which empowers all sports coaches, their teams and their local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer.